Cache 72 (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 2) Page 11

  The nurse went to Gil’s phone, picked it up, listened, and then hung it up.

  “Stay here. Your phone is dead. I need to call security.” She left.

  Gil got up and grabbed his pants.

  “Are you all right?” Mel asked. Her voice shook and she had to sit down.

  “We’re getting out of here.”

  “You can’t leave,” she said. “You need attention.”

  “I’m not staying and neither are you. I won’t wait around for someone to slip me something in my sleep or kill you while you’re getting something to eat.”

  He ripped the I.V. from his arm and it started to bleed. He ignored it. Grabbing his shirt, he tried to put it on, but struggled with the bandage. “Help me, Mel! Come on!”

  She jumped up and helped him get the shirt on and then he grabbed her hand and led the way out of the door. The nursing station was to the right, so he went left and headed straight for a sign that said ‘Stairwell.’ He pushed the door open and pulled Mel through. The stairwell was lit by one four foot fluorescent bulb on every other landing, casting shadows on walls and in the corners.

  “I’m scared, Gil. Maybe we should go back.”

  “We’re not staying. That guy is probably long gone, but he’ll be back.”

  He led the way down and tried to listen as they went. He heard commotion from behind them and wondered if the nurse discovered they were gone already. It didn’t matter. They couldn’t stop him. He could leave if he wanted.

  A door slammed open below them and footsteps rushed up at them from below. Gil paused, waited a beat, and then a door opened again and slammed shut. The footsteps trailed away. He continued down, the stairs seeming to rush up at him. He was still a little woozy and he stumbled, but Mel caught him and kept him from falling.

  “Gil, you’re still not doing well. We should stay.”

  “No.”

  He kept on going and they reached the bottom without anyone else coming into the stairwell. He pushed the door open into the parking garage and glanced around. It seemed deserted.

  “Where’s the car?” he whispered.

  She pointed and he saw it in the distance. Looking left and right again, he saw nothing. He stepped from the cover of the stairwell and moved toward the car. A shadow leapt from the left and hit him hard. He slammed into the cement, the full weight of the guy on him as Mel screamed. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

  He felt fingers wrap around his throat and squeeze.

  Mel was shouting, but her voice seemed to fade as the pressure increased. He thought his eyes were going to pop from his head. The world was turning red around the edges and the guy’s eyes bore into him as everything faded.

  Suddenly the pressure released and the garage slowly came back into view. Mel was standing over him holding a piece of metal in her hands and the male nurse was limping off in the opposite direction. She dropped the metal tube and bent to him.

  “Come on!”

  She helped him up, but the world spun crazily and he found himself back on the pavement again. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs and took a deep breath. The air made a whistling noise as it tried to get past his swollen throat. He stood and was able to maintain his balance.

  “Thanks,” he squeaked, but he could barely hear his own voice. He coughed and wheezed as she pulled his hand along toward the car. They made it to the Mustang and she beeped the doors open. She helped him into the passenger seat and went around and cranked the car up. The roar of the engine was deafening inside the garage, but the power of the engine gave Gil strength. They may just make it out of here.

  Mel dropped it into gear and punched the gas. The car leapt from the parking spot and she spun the wheel left toward the exit. She lost control as the car slid and he put a hand on her hand.

  “Easy,” he whispered. “It’s all right. We’ll be all right.”

  She eased up on the gas and exited the gate without paying the fee. An alarm sounded behind them, but no one followed. She sped away into the early night and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Gil leaned against the window and worked the air in and out of his lungs. His ravaged throat was easing off. Maybe he would live after all.

  CHAPTER 16

  Jaxon met up with Ray at a Publix grocery store parking lot just off of Tamiami and I-95 in downtown Miami.

  Jaxon hadn’t waited very long as Ray had made good time all the way over. Gil had called him shortly after he had hung up with Vick and informed him that they had left the hospital and were on their way to them.

  When Jaxon hit the roof, Gil told him what had happened at the hospital and he had grown quiet as he listened. He told them to be careful, keep their eyes open and they would wait for them. He knew it would cost them an hour or more, but if the psycho had tried to kill them twice now, actually three times if you counted the snake, there was a good chance he would try again. At least, if they were with Jaxon, they’d stand a better chance.

  While they waited, Jaxon and Ray got a bite to eat at a McDonalds a block over. Jaxon told him about what happened at the hospital to Gil and Melanie.

  “This guy is taking some risks now,” Ray said. “He may make a mistake soon.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for. He’s been able to keep us where he wants us so far, but as soon as he makes the mistake we’ve been waiting for I’ll nail him to the wall.”

  Mel and Gil arrived at the Publix parking lot at 9:00 and Mel hugged Jaxon as soon as she saw him. “You were right. He’s after us now too. All this time, I thought you just needed our help, but it looks like we really need yours.”

  “We stick together, we’ll be all right. Is he ok?”

  She shook her head. “He’s still hurting, but he won’t complain. I can just tell. He won’t go to another hospital though. I’ve tried.”

  Gil came up, hand bandaged, smiling. He was putting on a pretty good show, but she was right. Jaxon could tell he was hurting.

  “You’re in no shape to be out here,” Ray said.

  “I’m fine. I’m not going back to the hospital. It’s safer out here.”

  “I’m not worried about you,” Ray said. “I’m worried you’ll weigh us down.”

  “I can hold my own.”

  Ray shook his head, but said nothing more.

  “All right, let’s go. We’ll take the SUV, Ray, since we can all fit in it.”

  “Do you have an idea where it is?” Gil asked.

  “The map says Virginia Key.”

  Gil groaned. “Not another animal park. The Miami Seaquarium is there. Shit.”

  “Are there alligators there?” Mel asked.

  “I would say yes,” Jaxon said. “Let’s go.”

  They loaded up and headed out.

  It wasn’t very far and as they paid the toll for Rickenbacker Causeway, Jaxon could see the lights of the aquarium in the distance. The GPS was showing a position further north and he showed this to Gil.

  “I don’t think it’s the aquarium.”

  Gil nodded but said nothing.

  After the causeway, they took Arthur Lamb Junior Road to the north and watched the beach as it floated by on their right. They passed a big gated sewage treatment plant and continued north until they reached the beach’s public access. They pulled into the park and stopped. It was close. Within a hundred yards.

  The lot had a few cars parked in it. Low riders. Older American made cars decked out in loud paint jobs and gleaming chrome, the suspension systems jacked up so that the car rode real low or super high. Latino music boomed from the stereos of the cars and Jaxon could feel the bass beat through the skin of the SUV. He had been hoping the place would be deserted.

  They all stepped from the car and looked around. Eyes fell on them, and Jaxon could tell they were not welcome. He was used to it. Most of his career he felt this way. It was the same every time he arrived at a situation that required his attention. Cops dealt with it. Sensed it in even the minutest of places. It had bother
ed him at the beginning of his career. The anger and resentment directed his way, throwing him off. He was the law. A savior. Someone who restored order to the order-less and helped those in need. So when he arrived at a scene and felt a totally different vibe than the thankfulness he expected, it had surprised him.

  After a while, though, he got used to it and even expected it. If he was in a place that appreciated him, then he wasn’t needed. It was just the way of it.

  Apparently, this place was one where a little law enforcement was lacking and he suspected that a little illegal trade was going on at the beach after sundown. Maybe even a lot of trade.

  “I don’t think they want us here,” Mel whispered to Jaxon.

  “No. They don’t. But that’s tough, because we’re here and we aren’t leaving.”

  A little burst of laughter from one of the scattered groups pulled Mel’s attention away for a second and then she said, “There are a lot of them.”

  “We’ll be all right.”

  “Great place,” Ray said as he walked up. He looked nervous. Jaxon guessed he hadn’t dealt with this kind of thing much in the Everglades.

  “Ignore them. We’ll only be here a few minutes. Which way?”

  Gil pointed toward the picnic area and they headed that way, staying in their tight little group. A bonfire was burning to their right, toward the beach, and Jaxon could see the faces in the firelight. They were all looking their way.

  Gil held the GPS up to his face and stopped. “This is it. Close as we’re going to get.”

  A bathroom was sitting about twenty feet in front of them and little covered picnic areas surrounded them within that same radius. Metal barbeque grills accompanied each picnic table and a garbage can sat between every other one.

  “Ray, you take Gil and search the bathroom area. Mel will stay with me and we’ll look around the tables and stuff.”

  “What are we looking for?” Ray asked.

  “Gil will explain.”

  They headed off to the bathroom and Mel turned to him, her eyes huge in the light of the bonfire.

  “Everybody is staring at us,” she said.

  “Ignore them. You look in this area and I’ll look here. I’ll be right here.”

  She nodded and went to work. Jaxon glanced at the people around and noticed that they all sported a certain kind of bandana. Some wore them on their heads while others had them wrapped around their upper arms. Even the women. Most bore numerous tattoos all over their bodies and stood with that swagger Jaxon recognized as trouble. He counted them as he glanced around. Twenty-three. Not good.

  The picnic tables and grills held nothing in his immediate area. He climbed up on a table and got a closer look at the eaves for the covering over the tables but nothing was hidden or attached except mud dobber wasps. One buzzed around his head and then flew off. He turned to look at Mel and noticed she was just standing there looking at him. He jumped down off of the table and said, “You all right?”

  She nodded at something behind him and he turned.

  Three Latino men in their early twenties stood a few feet behind him. A tall one with earrings in his right ear and a wife beater t-shirt spoke. “Who are you?”

  “Nobody,” Jaxon said. Mel came up next to him and stood close. He could feel the fear radiating off of her.

  The guy chuckled and took a step closer. “Well, Nobody, why are you here?”

  Jaxon glanced around the park and then met the man’s eyes. “We’re enjoying our summer vacation. We like dark, smelly places to hang out.”

  “What? You and your daughter?” The three laughed. Mel moved closer.

  “What do you want?” Jaxon asked. “We’re kind of busy.”

  “We noticed. We want you to leave. We don’t like visitors.”

  “Last I heard, this was a public beach.”

  “Only for a certain kind of public. I’ll ask you again and then we won’t be so pleasant. Why are you here?”

  “We like the music.”

  “Problem?” Ray and Gil had walked up and Ray was standing next to him. In his uniform, he was attracting even more attention. The three Latinos were no longer laughing.

  “No problem,” Jaxon said. “Our friends here were just welcoming us to the neighborhood. They seem awfully nice.”

  “I bet.” Ray pulled out his badge. “Problem gentlemen?”

  “Who the hell are you?” the tall one asked. “Are you even a real cop?”

  “As real as they get. Now, move along. Official business here.”

  Ray dismissed them and showed Jaxon a box. They found it.

  “What the hell is that?”

  The three hadn’t moved and Ray acted like he hadn’t noticed.

  “You three still here?” He took a step toward them and put his hand on his gun. “Do I have to tell you again? Move along.”

  “I want to know what’s in the box. Then, maybe, we’ll move along.”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “I don’t see it that way. I see you four handing us what you have and then you get back in your pansy ass car and get the hell out of here. The way I see it, you don’t have a choice. Not too many of your brothers around here.”

  Jaxon stepped forward. The three watched him but did not move. He walked right up to the tall one, stopped in front of him and leaned in close.

  “I don’t like you.”

  “Tough shit, asshole.”

  “We’re leaving,” Jaxon said, “and the box is going with us.”

  He straightened up and then without so much as a word, sprang forward and head butted the tall one. His nose crumpled underneath Jaxon’s forehead and he went down. The one on the right hadn’t even flinched and before he could even move, Jaxon slammed an elbow into his larynx and the man staggered backward grabbing his throat. A strange gargling sound came from him as he went to his knees, his eyes bulging from his head.

  The one on the left was moving now and Jaxon saw the elbow coming in toward his face. He ducked and it grazed the top of his head. Crouching now, he drove his knee up into the exposed abdomen of number three and the guy bent over, the air leaving him in a violent cough. Jaxon brought both fists down on the back of his neck and the guy collapsed to the ground.

  “Shit!” Ray said and grabbed Mel. “Move!”

  He shoved her toward the SUV. The other twenty people stood in shock for a second and then they came to life.

  “Hey! Shitheads!”

  Guns started coming out from beneath shirts and pant legs.

  Jaxon pushed Gil toward the car. “Time to go, kid.” He pulled his gun and ran.

  Shots rang out and he could hear bullets whizzing over his head. Ray was at the car and Mel jumped in as bullets starting pinging off of the metal. Ray returned fire and Jaxon watched one of them go down. He fired as he ran and the Latinos scattered for cover, their weapons hitting nothing but air as they fired wildly. Jaxon and Gil reached the car and leapt in.

  “Punch it!” Jaxon shouted and the car lurched forward, the tires squealing on the pavement. Gunshots were going off all around and the side window blew out. Jaxon hoped they wouldn’t shoot the tires.

  The shots faded as they sped away and Jaxon was surprised no cars followed them. He guessed they had second thoughts about a shootout with all the cops that they suspected would be showing up shortly.

  Mel sat up in the front as Ray pushed the SUV around the curves of the small island road. They hit the Rickenbacker Causeway and accelerated across the bridge. Jaxon told him to slow down, no one was following and Ray eased up on the gas.

  “Anybody hit?” Jaxon asked, and they all answered no.

  “Why the hell did you hit that guy?” Ray asked angrily. “You blew that situation all out of proportion.”

  “Bullshit,” Jaxon said. “They weren’t going to let us leave with the box. And we need it.”

  “How bad did we need it? Bad enough for me to shoot and possibly kill somebody? Doesn’t sound like much of a tradeoff. Take a
life or save a life? Come on man.”

  “You know for a fact those thugs will live and die by the gun. We only helped them along. They asked for it anyway.”

  Ray shook his head. “How the hell am I going to answer for this? Dammit!”

  “You’ve never shot anyone have you?”

  “Eat shit, Jaxon.”

  “You just winged him anyway. He’ll be fine. I saw him grab his leg and go down.”

  “You’re on your own,” Ray said. “I can’t work with you. You’re as bad as the psycho sending you on this wild goose chase. I’m out.”

  “Fine. I don’t need your help anyway. You’ll just get in my way later.”

  “I know everybody is stressed right now,” Gil said, “but you two need to calm down and think this through.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ray said. “You don’t just go into a gang’s hangout and start shooting.”

  “Jaxon didn’t. They shot first.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ray said again.

  “Please,” Mel said. “I’m really scared right now and I need you two to stop fighting. Aren’t we supposed to be saving a girl? Please.”

  Jaxon shut his mouth and looked into the rear view mirror. Ray was staring at him. Jaxon shook his head and sat back. “That’s the point,” he said. “Saving this girl.”

  Ray said nothing.

  CHAPTER 17

  Jaxon was losing it. He wasn’t himself.

  The exhaustion was causing him to make stupid and rash decisions and his patience was very thin. Normally, he would not have head butted an asshole unless he had no other choice, and as he looked back at the situation, he could say the choice had been made for him. Give the thugs the box, or head butt the guy. Still, it had escalated way beyond anything he had imagined and now Ray didn’t trust him. Not a good thing. Even in short lived partnerships, if your partner didn’t trust you, the outcome was probably not going to be good.

  On the police radio, calls were coming in of shots fired somewhere in Key Biscayne and units were mobilizing. They weren’t really at any risk of being detained, but Jaxon still didn’t like all the activity in the area.